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Israel is Maxine Kronick's
Newest Dramatic Adventure
ELIZABETH KAPLAN
HERMOPLAST
Staff Writer
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■
t took almost 20 years for
Maxine Kronick to get to
Israel.
As part of a Young Leader-
ship mission, Kronick first
visited Israel in 1969. "And
the moment I stepped off the
plane I thought, 'This is
where I belong: "
Nine months ago, Kronick
moved to Tel Aviv. She rents
an apartment on Dizengoff
Street and will tell you right
off the bat that she is not in-
terested in suffering (she has
a good job and she loves it)
and if you're an American
Jew who hasn't been to Israel
well, why not?
It might be the New Yorker
in her. But Kronick left New
York years ago and settled in
Flint. Then she made aliyah.
Kronick was back in
Michigan recently to organize
dates for the showings of
"The Israel Experience" and
"The Holy Land," two
multimedia presentations
that help Americans get a
taste of Israel.
She's also here to promote
the work of Paul Collins, a
black American artist who
created a series called "The
Faces of Israel" in honor of
the 40th anniversary of the
state. Collins, who has been
- living for the past two years
in Israel, was inspired by the
work of Jews involved in the
Civil Rights movement.
Kronick's official title is
American projects manager
for the Israel government
tourist office. Her goal is to
get U.S. and Canadian
citizens interested in Israel.
And this is a woman from
Flint? Sounds different,
right?
It is.
Raised by her Orthodox
grandmother in Troy, N.Y.,
,Kronick grew up in a
religious, but not particular-
ly Zionist, home.
One day she met a young
Holocaust survivor with
whom she was to become very
close. Her new friend told
Maxine tales of evil in Nazi
Germany she had never
heard.
"And I became very angry,"
she said. "The rabbi had
never told me anything! All
those people who never
wanted to talked about anti-
Semitism. They never stood
for anything. I remember that
very, very clearly?'
Sparked by her new friend-
ship, Kronick became "an ab-
Maxine Kronick:
Living an adventure.
solute activist for Jewish
causes."
Then she got married, mov-
ed with her husband to
Michigan, had-four children
and traded her pro-Israel
banners for dustcloths and
potholders. Or, as she will tell
you, "I made my oven into my
desk. But nobody is ever go-
ing to remember me for the
great meals I made."
Yet she might be
remembered for some of her
local theater performances.
After appearing in a number
of off-off Broadway plays in
New York, Kronick won the
first part she auditioned for in
Michigan. It was a role close
to home: Golda in "Fiddler on
the Roof?'
Kronick's grandmother was
an immigrant from Eastern
Europe who spent many
hours recounting stories of
her life in the shtetl. They
were stories that stayed with
Kronick, who went on to pro-
duce a documentary, "From
the Shtetl With Lover
While living in Flint,
Kronick also appeared in
television commericals and
hosted a radio program,
"Maxine and the Jewish Con-
nection."
But her biggest coup was
being named director of
special events to the mayor.
It was, Kronick said, a good
life. She was involved in such
projects as the 75th anniver-
sary of General Motors and
coordinating local concerts.
She had applied for a
similar job in Phoenix and
was a finalist for the position
when, all of a sudden, she
decided it was time to realize
her dream — or, as she likes
to say, "to begin the second
half of my lifer
Kronick admitted her deci-
sion to make aliyah "took
more courage than anything
else I've ever done."
First she sold her house.
And her furniture. And her
car.
Then she went to the bank
and took out a loan.
Then she faced her
children.
"But Mom!" one son cried.
"You're 50 years old!"
"Thank you very much;'
she told him. "But I already
know how old I am."
It will probably come as lit-
tle surprise to hear that
Kronick did not opt for the
traditional route.
Looking through an issue of
The Jerusalem Post, Kronick
saw an article about the Miss
Universe pagent. So she call-
ed the head of the event and
told him, "CBS asked me to
contact you."
Don't worry, Kronick
assures you. "I just did that
once. I would never lie once I
get the interview."
She got the interview. She
got the job, too: Maxine
Kronick — liason between the
United States and Israel for
the Miss Universe pagent.
Several months later she
went in search of another job.
She landed in Absorption
Minister Yaakov Thur's office.
"I told him I was making a
documentary about
American absorption in
Israel — which was true."
Tsur sent one of his aides to
meet Kronick, who quickly
informed him, "Look, all I
want is a chance. I don't want
a house and I don't want
government money." She
showed him her credentials.
Not long after, the ministry
hired her.
Kronick is not exactly
starry-eyed. She knows the
problems in Israel. One of her
favorite pastimes is "avoiding
the bureaucracy as often as
possible;' she said.
Yet that hardly limits her
enthusiasm for the country,
and her firm belief that other
Americans should go to
Israel. Or else keep their
mouths shut.
"We're all alone in Israel;'
she said. "And nobody has the
right to tell us how to live our
lives until he packs up and
comes there. And I don't want
to hear anyone sitting in his
fancy house in Bloomfield
Hills saying how we in Israel
should do things, because you
have no idea what it's like to
live there."
A moment later, Kronick
tempers these words. She is
simply frustrated that more
Americans are not as in love
with Israel as she.
"I can't imagine having liv-
ed my life without this adven-
turer she said.